Light of Medusa

Morphology

Production techniques are developed to create results as efficiently and quickly as possible. They are printed, milled or laser cut. Effective, but shapes which are not possible to make with these machines are no longer been seen. In nature you hardly see straight lines, flatpack designs or stackable objects. There is thus a widening gap between the created reality and the natural reality. My design practice focuses a lot on those natural forms. Shapes that are not created by efficiently programmed machines but by natural processes such as erosion of rock or evolution of flora and fauna. The morphology of snakes is also a shape that can hardly be imitated with mechanical production techniques. We see plenty of straight tubes, but you don't see tube shapes that are “draped over” something. Reading studies on snake morphology, I became more and more fascinated by their appearance and saw the opportunity to use this as a starting point for a new collection of designs.

Mythical characteristics

In this project I investigate the symbolism and mythical characteristics that snakes have had for centuries because they represent both good and evil (reborn by changing their skin and death from their poisonous bite). This is why you often see snakes in medical images. Other examples include the biblical story of Eve being tempted to break God's commandment by eating a forbidden fruit. Or the story of Medusa in Greek mythology, where Medusa's hair is turned into a bunch of writhing snakes. Also, anyone who looked at Medusa would instantly petrify, a fact that links in with my project because involves playing with the laws of gravity.